The General's Dilemma
by Captain Nuissance
Summary: Rose, The General of the Minutemen, faces a dilemma after discovering Shaun's identity: Destroy the Institute and Kill Shaun or join him. The story follows the adventures of the General discovering the consequences of inaction, her relationships with the other companions, and the search for peace in the wasteland. Rated M for my writing style and future stories.
1. Beginning

The sun rises over the Commonwealth.

Suddenly the land is not as harsh, not as radiated. For one brief moment, the rising sun blinds the radiated wasteland and collapsed civilization. For one brief moment, the day is new.

But then the moment passes and the glare of the rising sun is suddenly not able to cover up the patched-up ruin of the Commonwealth. The scorched earth and dying trees reveal themselves among the wasteland and suddenly the glare of the sun is too bright and not pleasant anymore. The General sighs and closes her eyes, trying to preserve the moment before. She does this every morning in Sanctuary before the hectic demand of her daily duties begin. It gives her a chance to clear her head and be alone, Jesus to have _one_ minute alone every day. _I need at least that_ , she thinks.

"General?" She turns around to find Danse standing alone behind her in faded jeans and a black bomber jacket holding a mug of steaming liquid. He looks alert and awake despite the early hour; probably a result of the morning runs that he takes around the settlement every morning. _His Brotherhood rituals still live on._

"You must be the only one awake in this entire settlement," The General says with a tired grin as Danse moves silently at her side.

"I've brought you some tea," he hands the mug to The General who takes it eagerly, the scent of freshly grown herbs relaxing her tense muscles.

"Thank you, Danse."

The General silently sips at her tea and gazes out at the wasteland beyond Sanctuary. A dull ache had recently begun to form in her heart over these last painful months. It seems that the beginning of her hectic journey in the Commonwealth for her son had been a distraction, a common goal that she could pursue and push aside her feelings. She had never had time to grieve about the world she had lost. She would be lying to herself if she said that, in those first few months, she had not remembered the world before the war, but it had only been at night when she journeyed alone. Instead she was constantly worrying about Shaun. _Shaun, Shaun, Shaun._

And then, against impossible odds, she had found him. Older than she, he was the leader of everything she hated about the Institute. The synths that she had killed had borne his genes, _her_ genes. He was the Father of the Institute. She had sat with him for hours as he walked her through the events of his life and his role in the Institute. He explained to her his kidnapping, Nate's death, and his future with the Institute. And then, he had asked her to make a choice. Join him or abandon him.

The General had also detected the hidden words within his statement that were not said. It wasn't simply an optioning of abandoning or staying; it was kill or be killed. Kill for the Institute or kill Shaun.

To say her heart had broken would be an understatement. She had cried, then begged, then wailed that day at the Institute before finally leaving, completely in limbo. She had neither agreed to abandon Shaun nor destroy him. She couldn't imagine doing either. Killing Shaun…She could not think about the consequences but ignoring the Institute was a travesty for the whole Commonwealth. Her whole mission, her whole ambition since stepping out of Vault 111 had been to find Shaun and destroy the Institute and now she could not fulfill.

Meanwhile, as General of the Minutemen, she focused all of her time and energy into building new settlements and relocating nomadic people into secure homes. She had halted all investigation into the Institute, much to the shock of Preston and her commanding staff. They did not discuss the Institute and she had terminated their mission to destroy it. Before, she had been a General that inspired and uplifted her people. Now, she sensed the looks of dismay among her followers and could hear the soft whisper of mutiny concerning her inaction towards the Institute. They wanted revenge and a sense of security. She could give neither.

The sound of Danse's voice knocked her out of her daydream, "We have a distress report from Jamaica Plain that came in early this morning. I wanted to wait to discuss it with you before sending any deployments."

The General sipped her tea slowly, "Go on."

"We've been receiving some…Disturbing reports from some settlements concerning attacks. Multiple settlers have claimed that rogue synths have been attacking in groups mixed with Raider bands. We ignored it at first because it sounded absurd but now…We have reason to believe that they may be telling the truth."

The General noticed now a bag that Danse slung around his chest. He reached into it and pulled out the head of a Gen 3 synth, ripped from its body. Dead mechanical eyes looked into hers as she took it into her hands. She tried not to think about Shaun's DNA encoded into every Gen 3 synth as she handed the decapitated head back to Danse, "Who gave this to you?"

"A settler from Finch Farm sent an envoy last night while you were in the strategy meeting. He said that it was from an attack a few days earlier. We suspect that this recent distress call from Jamaica Plain is a positive confirmation of a current synth attack."

The General spun away and began pacing. She clenched her fists, _Dammit, Shaun._

She spun again toward Danse, who was used to this behavior from the General by now. As her third in command, right behind Preston, Danse saw the General the most out of everyone. He briefed her every morning, carried out her orders to underlings, brought her food and water, and attended to her personal affairs. Since her brief stint in the Brotherhood of Steel, Danse had been at the General's side.

The General stopped moving and fixed her eyes on him, "Danse, pack the mules with supplies and summon Preston, Hancock, MacCready, Piper, and Nick to me immediately. Grab my pack and weaponry. I'm personally seeing to the synth attacks. If this information is true it would mean a direct attack from the Institute. We'll leave for Jamaica Plain in three hours."

* * *

"Have any chems in that giant bag, steel-man?"

Danse turned around to find the former mayor of Goodneighbor grinning, his hands jammed in the pockets of his faded grey jeans, a crooked smile on his face, "Of course not, and even if there were, it would be highly inappropriate for me to reveal the contents of the General's bag," Danse replied stiffly.

"Oh so it's the _General's_ personal bag is it? I wonder what hidden gems she has in there," Hancock laughed and fell into step with Danse, "You gotta wonder what she does in her private time, if you know what I mean."

"I assure you, I do not," Danse started strapping the General's bag onto one of the two mules standing at the entrance to Sanctuary, "Hasn't the General already summoned you anyway?"

"She did, she did," Hancock pulled out a dispenser of Jet and took a quick hit, much to the dismay of Danse, "All she did was ask me to go with her on some ass-kicking synth mission to Jamaica Plain to save the settlers from an attack."

Danse paused as he adjusted the straps on the mule, "She asked _you_ to go?"

"Yeah, got a problem with that steel-man?"

Danse shook his head and finished strapping the pack. In truth, he had been hoping that the General would ask _him_ to attend. After all, they had fought countless battles together. They knew how to fight together perfectly, almost down to an art. There were few battles where the General hadn't asked Danse to attend and the ones where she hadn't, Danse had sat awake all night with worry.

 _It's not your business to question the decisions of the General,_ Danse thought, _Forget it._

"…Don't understand why you're personally supervising this mission."

"Because I said so, and that's final. The safety of the settlers and viability of the synth attacks is a threat to _all_ of our settlements."

Danse turned to find Preston, his face crunched up in confusion, half-jogging beside the General as she walked swiftly through the bustle of the expedition. The General's eyes quickly surveyed the situation, her red hair falling in front of her shoulders as she turned to Preston, "Do I make myself clear?"

Preston slumped his shoulders slightly in resignation, "Yes, General."

 _You can never win an argument with the General,_ Danse grinned.

She caught Danse's eye at the moment of his grin. He tried to wipe the smirk off of his face before he caught the quick smile from the General, so fast that it was already gone. Danse blushed.

"Alright everyone, gather around me please," The General's voice echoed among Sanctuary as the settlers converged, "Today, I and a group of Minutemen will leave for Jamaica Plain to assist with a distress call that we received last night. We have reason to believe that synths are involved with an ongoing assault against our brothers and sisters." There was a slight gasp from the crowd, "I know, I know. But we have been faced with the threat of synths before. And like the other times, we will overcome our adversaries with the strength and swiftness that only the Minutemen can deliver. We'll be home with a message of victory in a few days' time. In the meantime, Preston will be in charge. All concerns must be taken to him. I'm also taking Hancock, MacCready, Piper, Nick, and Danse with me on this mission so I expect double shifts from those farming our food to ensure that we don't fall behind on our crops. Wish us luck, we'll be back before you know it."

The speech was met with cheers and chants of "Minutemen, minutemen!" The General blushed and the procession started to move some soldiers in front, followed by the mules. Danse caught her eye and she came over to him, "You didn't expect me to leave you behind, did you?"

Danse smiled, "You could have fooled me, General."

The General snorted as they started walking, "We're partners, Danse. I won't be leaving you any time soon."

Danse gazed at The General as she looked towards the procession, her red hair set aflame against the sun, and hoped that that time would never come.


	2. Jamaica Plain

_I cut Piper out of this story because I realized that it didn't fit so apologies for those reading from the last chapter. I also made Danse not a complete asshole! Rated M for gore and language. Enjoy._

* * *

Jamaica Plain rose slowly in the distance.

The caravan wobbled slowly over the cracked earth. _We're there, finally,_ The General thought. She had been in a state of panic for the entirety of the three-day journey, constantly flashing back between Shaun and the Institute. The General halted the caravan and squinted at the settlement in the distance.

"So that's Jamaica Plain, huh?" MacCready said. He pulled his rifle from his back and started absentmindedly wiping down the barrel, "Doesn't look like much from here."

"That's because it's usually swarming with people," Hancock chirped in, his rough voice almost too-loud in the silence of the surrounding settlement, "It looks deserted."

The last time The General had been in this area it had been for a supply stop a few weeks earlier. At the time, it had been absurdly populated with merchants and caravans, making Jamaica Plain the main supply station in the surrounding region. The General remembered the loud noise of the crowd and the smell of grilled ragstag from the food and drink trader. It had been the closest thing she could remember to pre-war Boston. _But now, it looks deserted._

The sound of Danse's cool voice cut through her memory, "Safety's off. I don't like the feeling of this." A sense of calm came over The General at the sound of Danse's voice.

The caravan crept slowly forward, the small army on their toes. Finally, The General halted the caravan when they were close enough. "Hancock, MacCready, and Danse join me. The rest of you, wait here. I'm going to go intercept the distress signal. If we aren't back in twenty minutes, provide backup." The General turned toward the caravan, "Stay safe."

Hancock, MacCready, Danse, and The General advanced forward toward the settlement. The General slipped her 30mm pistol from her thigh holster, "MacCready, take the sniper position on the roof."

"On it, boss," MacCready said as he ran smoothly toward the building opposite of the Jamaica Plain settlement.

Danse glanced toward The General, "This…doesn't feel right." The General couldn't help but agree.

As they got closer, The General noticed how deserted it actually was. Stalls sat abandoned and a few carts lay overturn. A cold feeling crept down The General's spine. _I don't like the feeling of this at all._

"General," Danse's voice had sunk low, "You'll want to see this."

The General crept toward Danse and looked to where his gaze lay. Smeared on the ground in front of the door leading toward the main house was a pool of glistening blood.

"Ugh…" Hancock said, disgusted.

The General looked toward Danse, whose mouth had been set into a hard line. He looked up and locked eyes with her. His eyes looked pointed and serious, a remarkable façade developed after years in the Brotherhood of Steel. She knew that his mind was completely in military-mode and analyzing the situation. But even from this distance, she could see his tense muscles and knew that he was nervous.

"Danse, the door is open," Hancock's voice rang out, the familiar nickname for Danse gone.

Danse nodded and put a finger silently to his lips. He crept toward the door and nudged it open, sweeping widely with his pistol. The General entered right behind him, followed by Hancock.

The living room was riddled with bullets. Paintings lay crooked on the wall, their beautiful oil designs ruined. The couch in the center was destroyed and the television shattered. The General felt her heart lurch. She remembered carrying that couch through the door with the settlers. What were their names again? They were so thankful and full of hope. _And now they may be dead._

 _Dammit, Shaun._

A thump from the second floor caused The General to jump. She saw Danse sweep the room once more with his pistol drawn in front of him and then move slowly up the stairs. His eyebrows were knotted, his back tense.

"Something doesn't smell right…" Hancock whispered, his mangled nose flaring, as Danse opened the door to the second floor.

The General saw the blood leave Danse's face almost in slow-motion.

"Good God," he muttered.

She swept in behind him. The sight in front of her caused her knees to shake as she grabbed the doorway to keep from collapsing.

It was utter carnage.

The upstairs was a mess of blood and bodies. The General had never seen this much blood in her entire life. Three bodies lay scattered on the floor with an assortment of their body parts. The attackers had gorged the bodies and…The General gasped as the stomach of one of the settlers lay exposed. Her hands shook and her gun almost slipped from her hand. Bullet holes lay everywhere. She felt the gorge rise in the back of her throat and suddenly the room was spinning. Distantly she heard Hancock say, "Oh shit." Out of the corner of her vision she thought she saw a decapitated head.

A whimper brought The General to her senses. Slowly, she turned her head to see three settlers tied together. Their mouths and eyes were bound but, miraculously, they were unhurt. She stumbled towards them and gently pulled the tape off the mouth of the male settler facing the door. The man gasped, "Please, God, have mercy."

"Who did this to you?" The General asked.

"Th-they came in the night," the settler spluttered, "Synths that looked exactly like people…They let held us at gunpoint and fff-forced us to make a distress call before they put us in this room. They tt-old Ted and Neil and George to stand up and then just started shooting. They tried to fight back but it was no use. They bb-bent their guns in half with their bare fucking hands. We watched…We watched them rip them apart." The settler started sobbing, "They told us to 'thank the General,' God they're all dead. They're all dead!" The settler forced himself to stop as he broke down into sobs.

 _Damnit, Shaun._

"Boss…" Hancock said. The General turned.

On the wall, written out were the words, "With us or against us." The General felt the wind knock out of her as she realized that the letters were written in blood. She remembered Shaun's last words to her before she had left the Institute, _You're either with me or against me._

 _With me or against me._

 _With me or against me._

The General didn't feel her legs give out. She didn't feel the gun leave her hand or the sob that escaped her lungs. She didn't feel her entire body shake violently as if it desperately desired to escape.

All she thought of was Shaun.

Shaun as an infant. Shaun in Nate's arms as they entered the Vault. Child Shaun from Kellogg's memories. Shaun as the Father of the Institute, his cold blue eyes staring at her, _You're either with me or against me._

 _With me or against me._

The blood of the settlers that the Institute, no Shaun, had killed was seeping through her pants. She heard Danse call her name distantly.

 _They're all dead because of me._

 _With me or against me._

"General!"

 _I couldn't choose, so the Institute chose for me._

 _With me or against me._

"Rose!"

Her head snapped up, her gaze finding Danse's face inches from her. Dully, as if in a trance, she felt his hands on her shoulders, shaking her. _I told him never to use my real name,_ she thought.

"Rose…" Danse's brown eyes pleaded with her, his voice whispered, "Please. Talk to me." She distantly noticed the close cropped beard around his chin.

"With me or against me…" She whispered, her eyes locked on Danse.

His eyes, she noticed, had always comforted her. Why had she never noticed that?

Rose tore herself from her trance as the sound of footsteps thundered up the stairs. She heard the gasps of several people. The Minutemen caravan had arrived after twenty minutes of inaction. She heard the distant sounds of retching.

"Shit…Jun Long, get everybody out of here!" Hancock cried, "Before the entire army sees this mess."

Jun Long stood frozen and horrified at the door. Hancock hastily shoved Jun Long back, "And get these settlers cleaned up." He led the terrified settlers through the door toward Jun Long before slamming it shut.

Rose felt Danse's hands lift her limply to her feet.

 _With me or against me._

"What the hell happened here, Danse?" Hancock said.

"I don't know," Danse supported Rose with his arms and maneuvered him to the door at the end of the room, "But I need to get Rose-The General out of here." He opened the door with his free hand.

"You can't just take her out of here, Danse!" Hancock yelled, "Her fucking name is splattered in blood on the wall!"

Danse slammed the door shut. "Rose, what is going on?" He muttered as he supported her down the stairs, then out of the house. Rose noticed the floor turn to dirt and, suddenly, they were in the alleyway behind the house. Without the support of Danse, Rose sank to the ground, her back supported by the alley wall. Danse crouched in front of her, his hands on her shoulders.

He shook her slightly, "Rose, what is happening?"

She noticed the strong smell of him and closed her eyes.

She broke out into a sob before abruptly stopping, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, "Do you remember a few months ago when I went on that solo mission near Starlight Drive-In?"

"Yes," Danse replied.

"Well, during that time, I built a signal interceptor and infiltrated the Institute," Rose noticed the tightening of Danse's mouth, "I know, I didn't tell you, but listen to me. I found Shaun, but not like I remembered him. Shaun was 60 years old, and the leader of the Institute. They called him 'Father.' He had let me out of Vault 111 as a kind of social experiment and had tracked my movements from the moment that I stepped out of the vault. He told me…He told me I had to choose between the Commonwealth and the Institute." Rose paused, "He told me I was either with him or against him. I had to choose between parting with my only son, my son that I had spent months tirelessly and desperately searching for, or the Commonwealth. The only remnant of Nate. I told him that I didn't want to decide, and that I didn't have to take sides. I told him that I could be neutral. But he wouldn't…He wouldn't listen. I left the Institute without declaring a side. I think that all of this, this mass murder, was staged either with full or partial knowledge of Shaun to send me a message. "

Danse was silent for several agonizing seconds before letting out a deep breath and sinking back against the opposite wall. He looked at her before glancing away and her heart sunk as she read the disappointment in his face, "Inaction is a fool's weapon, Rose."

Rose nodded, "I know, God I know that now. I would give anything to go back. Those settlers…They're dead because of me."

The reality sunk in once again and she felt the blood leave her face. _Dead because of me._ She could remember those settlers now, like some sick irony, when she wasn't able to remember them before. Shit, she even remembered their children. She felt tears rise in her eyes. She was no better than Kellogg, who had murdered Nate. She was no better than a murderer. It was as if she had raised the gun.

"Rose," she felt Danse's hand on her shoulder, "You did something very, very stupid and careless. You made a choice that defies the morale code that I had associated with you. You ignored everything that I taught you as a Paladin and everything that I taught you as a teacher," Rose felt her head sink lower, " _But you did not kill these people."_

Rose raised her head and looked at Danse, a surprised look on her face.

Danse continued, "The person, no the people, who killed these people _are still out there._ Those people desecrated this settlement and took innocent lives but while they still live, the threat still exists. So do not blame yourself, but instead blame who is really responsible. The Institute. Your son. They did this to ruin you and furthermore, the Commonwealth itself. But this isn't over, Rose. While the Institute still survives, these acts of violence will continue. While the Institute lives, the Commonwealth will never live in peace."

"Tin-can over here is right," Rose startled at the voice and was surprised to see Hancock entering the alleyway. He grinned, "Sorry, couldn't help overhearing. Anyway, he's right. That bloodbath in there was the last straw for the Institute. I'm out for blood." He cracked his knuckles.

Rose looked at Danse then at Hancock. She closed her eyes and thought about the dead settlers in that house. The blood splattered on the wall. She stood up and reached into her backpack, pulling out her general's overcoat. She felt the soft fabric in her hands and remembered her duties that she had promised to the Commonwealth. _Those duties don't go away just because of Shaun,_ she thought.

She clenched the fabric in her fist and looked up. She locked eyes with Danse.

"The Institute will pay for this," Rose said, "They will pay for all of the lives they have taken. They will pay for this. They will pay for taking Shaun. "

Danse had a glimmer in his eye as he stood up. Hancock grinned again, "Hell yeah. Now that's what I'm talking about."

"We're going to destroy the Institute."


End file.
